I just finished A Winter Haunting and loved it!! I got hooked this weekend and couldn't put it down. I agree it was totally different than SON in all kind of ways but I loved the twists and turns of the story.
Spoiler:
It liked it a lot more than Children of Night as CON seemed more predictable to me.
Yesterday I finished J.K. Rowling's Cormoran Strike trilogy (The Cuckoo's Calling, The Silkworm, Career Of Evil).
They are pretty basic detective novels, but then I say that as someone who hasn't read many other detective novels (I'm struggling to recall if I ever have).
I enjoyed them, and I did get to the point where I'm looking forward to the next Strike novel (Lethal White, coming...sometime), but they aren't whoa, you've gotta read this good. My main problem is that the two main characters feel pretty stock to me, which is odd because all other characters, however little used, feel pretty real. I suppose this problem lessened a bit as the series went on, but they still have a whiff of clip-art about them. As for cliche, I did resolve (while reading the first of the trilogy) to immediately stop reading ifSpoiler:, but this didn't happen.
A characteristic of each book that I'd guess is more of a feature than a bug, and therefore not really a problem so much as a limitation (maybe) is that it follows the formula where the crime solver tells the criminal all about how he brilliantly solved the crime near the end. I thought that style/technique went out with the hula hoop, but maybe I'm wrong (as I said, I haven't read many other detective stories).
I would like to read a detective novel that feels a bit grittier, not necessarily graphic and bloody or profanity-laden (although those characteristics wouldn't necessarily disqualify), but a bit more rough around the edges. Does anyone have any recommendations? I might try one each by two or three of the major names in the genre, but I expect that, when I look on my own, I'll find more than that, so I'm wondering what people consider essential, or at least good, representative novels that would make for decent entry points into the genre.
Eastasia has always taught college students to feel pride or shame according to their race.
Yesterday I read (started and finished!) The Quotable Winston Churchill, which measures 2.75" x 3.25".
Not much too it, as you may imagine, and the title says it all.
Eastasia has always taught college students to feel pride or shame according to their race.
Last night, I started The Name Of The Wind by Patrick Rothfuss, which I know is familiar to many of you.
This is the first I've read of Rothfuss; I chose this when randomly casting about for some new fantasy.
I'm only on page 25, but I have to say: what I've read so far is pretty intriguing.
Eastasia has always taught college students to feel pride or shame according to their race.
Try John Sandford's Lucas Davenport "Prey" series.Originally Posted by St. Troy
Oof! Thanks, but I've already read Sandford's Rules Of Prey - it was the first book that made me say "I know I can do better than that."Try John Sandford's Lucas Davenport "Prey" series.
Eastasia has always taught college students to feel pride or shame according to their race.
Just finished The Terror. Top tier Simmons for sure.
My fav of his thus far. I wanna read Drood but keep putting it off due to reviews.... what else has he done that is top tier?
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Did you read Song of Kali, Kris? (the 1st edition is also a nice collectible book).
I have yet to read Carrion Comfort but I believe that's also one of his better works. And The Hollow Man, as I mentioned earlier (although it may be more of an acquired taste perhaps).
Nope! I will though! Thanks man
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Oof! Thanks, but I've already read Sandford's Rules Of Prey - it was the first book that made me say "I know I can do better than that."Try John Sandford's Lucas Davenport "Prey" series.
Not making excuses but ROP is the first in the series and Sandford was just starting his career as a novelist. That said his work might be a bit too light for your tastes (seeing the variety of books you read) but for my money Sandford's books (including the Virgil Flowers series) are the most consistently entertaining and enjoyable that I read. He has a great ear for dialogue that doesn't sound forced or phony and there are always several amusing lines to lighten the mood.
Thanks; I do appreciate the info.
Eastasia has always taught college students to feel pride or shame according to their race.
Personally, I loved Drood. It's long and sprawling, but wonderfully immersive. I know a lot of people don't like it as much as The Terror, but I actually prefer it.My fav of his thus far. I wanna read Drood but keep putting it off due to reviews.... what else has he done that is top tier?
HBJ
I'd love to get into him finally and will probably look for a good first edition of The Terror, and this seems to be turning into a Simmons thread, but we actually already have one: http://www.thedarktower.org/palaver/...59-Dan-Simmons
Like many Dan Simmons novels Drood is a combination of historical fact and fiction. For the most part I found it interesting and entertaining but like his incessant repetition of "Francis Rowdon Moira Crozier" in The Terror he wore my a** out with his constant references to the "inimitable" Charles Dickens. Rant aside, it is a good story.My fav of his thus far. I wanna read Drood but keep putting it off due to reviews.... what else has he done that is top tier?
Hyperion isn't the easiest read but in my humble opinion, it's THE book he'll be remembered for. They contain and combine the best elements from his entire body of work. Plus, the Shrike. Can't forget the Shrike.
It was A VERY HARD read but so cool. I did like it better than the follow up for sure.
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Did you read all four books? You gots to.
Just finished two books: The Shape of Water by Del Toro, and The Kill Riff by David J. Schow. I think I need something a little lighter for my next read. I'm thinking space adventure. I'm thinking Jack Vance. Big Planet.
What are you currently reading?
Took a break from The Terror (I can only handle so many consecutive ship terms I just don’t understand) to read an 80’s demon child horror paperback called “Lupe” by Gene Thompson. It started out ridiculous and there were a couple scene that made me question my dignity for not throwing the thing in the trash, but I liked it.
Back to The Terror!
Looking for Mister Slaughter S/L #78
Just received the notification my Unbury Carol hold has arrived. It's strange, my interest in Malerman wanes in tandem with decreasing Goodreads reviews of each new book: I have a signed trade of Bird Box, unsigned trade of The House at the Bottom of the Lake, I bought a used copy of Black Mad Wheel, and I'm getting Unbury Carol from the library.
In short, he hasn't matched the quality of Bird Box yet. Harsh but numbers don't lie.
I have to say, 500+ pages in, I'm quite enjoying this. Best new (to me) fiction I've read in a long time.
Eastasia has always taught college students to feel pride or shame according to their race.
Listener... hated it. Seemed so juvenile.
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Interesting. I really liked it. Facinating how a book can produce different results for different people. Pretty cool.
"Monsters are real, and ghosts are real too. They live inside us, and sometimes they win." - SK
WTB:
- S/L 'Storm Front' Jim Butcher (Subterranean Press)
- S/L 'Fool Moon' Jim Butcher (Subterranean Press)
It sure is... I have always found that fascinating too.Interesting. I really liked it. Facinating how a book can produce different results for different people. Pretty cool.
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